The Literary Canon

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Transcript of The Literary Canon

Lit. Courses at ECSUThe Literary Canon!!DefinitionsLiterary: concerning the writing, study, or content of literature, especially of what is valued for quality of form

Canon: a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged. a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine.

Literary canon: literature by authors accepted as authority, works included in literary canon is approved by cultural and academic institutions, works included means it has gained a status of authority giving the viewer an idea of what is highly regarded in the literary world.High School Lit.Almost any author studied in a course can be considered Literary Canon because the facilitator deemed the work worthy of being studied, showing that they have some aspect of being important.ENG 202 - Intro to English studiesENG 210 - Literature from Western Society to 1400ENG 212 - American Lit to 1865ENG 213 - American Lit from 1865ENG 214 - English Lit to 1798ENG 215 - English Lit from 1798ENG 255 - African American LitENG 317 - Renaissance LitENG 318 - Restoration LitENG 320 - Victorian LitENG 322 - Romantic PeriodENG 331 - Early 18th Century LlitENG 332 - Modern British & American PoetryENG 333 - The Modern NovelENG 335 - Shakespeare's ComediesENG 336 - Shakespeare's TragediesENG 337 - ChaucerENG 342 - Literature Of New EnglandENG 356 - Women Writers To 1900ENG 357 - 20th Century Women Writers

"What shall the individual who still desires to read attempt to read, this late in history?"". . . The Canon's true question. . .(from Harold Bloom's 'Elegy to the Canon')

Is the current Canon still relevant?vs.A Different Question. . .". . . a feminist or Marxist reading of Hamlet would tell us something about feminism and Marxism . . . but probably nothing about Hamlet itself."- Anonymous Wikipedia EditorHAMLETLiterary Critics/Theorists

have advocated for more multicultural works to be added to the Canon, to represent a wider range of HUMAN experience as opposed to only that of the 'white male'.such as: Feminist Critics,Marxist Critics,African-American Critics, and others. . .What are your thoughts? Are there pros to having a "Literary Canon"? Cons?William ShakespeareJane AustenBronte SistersThe Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel HawthorneThe Crucible by Arthur MillerThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldAnimal Farm and 1984 by George OrwellThe Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger(some of)ECSU's Lit. Courses:By Jon Boutin, Grayson Jeffriesand Ali Michaud,Critics like Harold Bloom believe that the only way by which a work of art should be judged is by its aesthetic value. . .(i.e., FORMALISM.)If you could pick one text to be part of the literary canon, what would it be?Pros ConsPermits books of the time periods to be immortalizedLiterature within the canon tends to carry universal messages and ideasHelps people figure out what to readFailure to gain access to gain status on the canon thrusts texts into "limbo" of the unknown.Students have little time to read beyond the canon reading list.What is beyond the reading list is labeled "dull" or unimportantMulticultural exposure is limited. . . and not their "political